


In Vino Amicitia

by Candyoranges



Series: Finding Common Ground [2]
Category: Eureka (TV)
Genre: First Time, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-21
Updated: 2016-03-21
Packaged: 2018-05-28 02:12:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6311044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Candyoranges/pseuds/Candyoranges
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After his divorce finalizes, all Nathan wants is to lick his wounds in private. Of course Carter can’t just let him be.</p><p>Jack just wanted to be friendly. He knew what it was like to go through a divorce, and even if Stark drove him crazy it didn’t mean that the man didn’t deserve a few beers after the week he’d had.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Vino Amicitia

It was official. As of 3:14pm Nathan was no longer a married man. All of his plans, all of the efforts he’d made since coming back to Eureka to reconcile with Allison – all of it had been for naught. He’d been so sure he could convince her to give him a second chance; had thought he’d have more time. 

Well, it’s not like he was truly out of time. He could still try to win her back, convince her to re-marry him rather than salvaging their initial marriage. This didn’t mean he had to give up on his goals. He could still have what he wanted, what had driven him to return to Eureka…

But honestly, what he really wanted now… was a drink.

Nathan absolutely hated feeling or appearing vulnerable. Nevertheless, he’d tried to make himself more open emotionally to show Allison he had changed. He had bared his feelings – and she had given him the divorce papers.

Oh he knew he had been petty when she’d handed him the papers, hiding everything behind an emotionless mask and implying it was something unimportant that had fallen through the cracks. Of course, his mask hadn’t fooled anyone once those damn nanobots decided to show the whole town his subconscious emotional state. Although really, his lie should have been patently obvious, at least to Allison, given how clearly he’d been angling for her attention.

It had taken a bit of time after the nanobot fiasco for all of the divorce paperwork to be finalized, but Nathan’s mood had not been improved by feeling like he was in a fishbowl the entire time. _(Sometimes he despised living in a small town.)_ He still had scientists fleeing in terror (or tears) when he was at GD, but as soon as he’d shifted to a new target he could feel the eyes peering at his back. It was even worse at Café Diem; the staring was far more blatant, and he could swear conversations died when he entered the room. 

People were watching him either with pity _(his poor, broken heart)_ , with spite _(he obviously didn’t **have** a heart)_ , or with fear that he might suddenly, what… explode? Fire half the staff of GD? Burst into tears?! 

Frankly the fearful ones were probably the most intelligent, albeit exacerbating the problem, since all the staring really was threatening to drive Nathan into a homicidal rage.

So he was hiding _(not hiding, just keeping his personal business private)_ in his house, miserable, angry, and nursing a glass of scotch.

_Knock, knock, knock._

If that was Fargo, he was going be scrubbing out all of the cages on Level 2 with a toothbrush.

…Even if it was Allison, he wasn’t sure he really wanted to see her right now. Was it too much to ask to be able to lick his wounds in private?

********

Jack wasn’t sure this was good idea. In fact, he was sure it was a terrible idea. 

He knocked quickly before he could change his mind and talk himself out of it. _Damnit_ , he’d just decided this was a terrible idea. He shifted nervously, looked down at the case of beer he was carrying, and then looked up as Stark opened the door.

“So, uh, I heard the paperwork’s done.”

“In case it’s escaped your notice, Sheriff, we do a lot of paperwork. Do I need to talk to your deputy if you’ve been having problems grasping that concept?”

Jack rolled his eyes. He _knew_ this was a terrible idea. “The divorce paperwork.”

Stark scowled. “And you nicely came to remind me? I do, in fact, still remember you said all bets were off if Allison and I got divorced.”

Sighing with aggravation, Jack reached up with his free hand to scratch the back of his head sheepishly. “I’m here because getting divorced sucks and you’ve probably had a shitty week. I figured you deserved a drink and I hate to see anyone drink alone – although it looks like you’ve already started.”

Stark studied him intently and Jack wondered for the millionth time if this was a mistake. He wasn’t even sure what Stark was looking for, but eventually the door opened wider and Stark drifted back over to his couch.

“I suppose it’s not like this night can get any worse.”

Jack’s eyes widened. “Don’t say that! This is Eureka. If one of your crazy scientists tries to blow up the town tonight, I am blaming it entirely on you.”

Stark put down his empty glass and snagged a beer. “I’m taking the night off, so I hope your deputy‘s on call to deal with it.”

Jack sighed, flopped onto the other end of the couch, and grabbed his own beer. 

Like he had said, he didn’t like to see anyone drink alone, and alcohol was probably the only way they could enjoy the evening without killing each other. Sure, they managed to work together to save the town, but they still bickered constantly. Stark insulted his intelligence, and Jack got defensive and gave back as good as he got.

However Jo was indeed on call, and tomorrow was Saturday, so there was no reason not to join Stark in getting drunk (and avoid thinking of all the ways in which this could turn out badly).

********

Finishing off his second beer, Nathan looked over at his temporary drinking companion. Jack Carter would not have been the first person he’d have picked for the position. Then again, Carter was one of the few people in town who didn’t work directly under him. Carter also wasn’t prone to starting gossip, or at least malicious gossip. And since Carter was keeping pace with two beers of his own, hopefully any blackmail would be mutual.

Surprisingly, Carter had also been fairly quiet – none of his usual inane babbling. In fact, they’d mostly sat in strangely companionable silence.

At the moment, Carter seemed to be absentmindedly picking at the label on his now empty bottle of beer and frowning at a space a foot above Nathan’s coffee table. Nathan wondered what he was thinking about. _(He wouldn’t have pegged Carter as a brooding drunk.)_ In fact, he still wondered what had prompted this overture from Carter in the first place, other than his perpetual annoying _niceness_.

Maybe he could chalk this up to yet another example of Carter managing to surprise him. Muzzily, he remembered that first instance of Carter surprising him, with that awkward conversation in the GD infirmary mere days after Nathan’s return to Eureka.

The recollection led to Nathan suddenly remembering his own ponderings from that conversation – namely what had led to Carter’s own divorce.

“So what happened with your divorce?” _Damn._ Nathan forgot that he sometimes lost his brain-to-mouth filter when he got drunk.

Carter’s head shot up at the sudden inquiry, but then proceeded to blink stupidly at Nathan for a moment – as if he’d forgotten where, and with whom, he was and was now re-gaining his bearings.

Eventually, Carter seemed to shake himself out of his stupor and glanced wryly at Nathan. “Apparently I’m a workaholic ego-maniac who doesn’t have his priorities straight.” His carefully pronounced words belied his level of drunkenness, but also had the ring of quoting an oft-heard complaint.

The unexpected, but dually appropriate, answer startled a bark of laughter out of Nathan and he could see Carter staring at him in surprise.

“I can easily see the workaholic, but an egomaniac? You?”

Carter grumbled and reached for another beer. “I was really good at my job as a marshal, and I was proud of it. It’s just here where I swear you and your scientists purposely try to make me look like an idiot, while I’m trying to stop the town from exploding.”

Nathan smirked, but Carter was already continuing. “Anyway, Abby’s a psychologist, and was always fond of pointing out everything that was wrong with me. Because turning an argument into a diagnosis session and accusing me of being of being passive-aggressive always helped resolve our fights.”

Now _that_ Nathan could commiserate with. “Mmm, but somehow the arguing was always your fault? A sign that somehow _you_ were the one unable to compromise?”

Apparently this had managed to turn into a classic, post-divorce, bitch-about-your-ex drinking party. And strangely, Nathan was enjoying the chance to vent. Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it was Carter’s own openness, but Nathan found himself complaining about the recent mixed signals from Allison _after_ she’d already given him the divorce papers. He still wanted to avoid actually talking about feelings, but he could complain about inconsistent data, right?

Carter’s drunken agreement suddenly sharpened. “She hasn’t given you problems about Kevin has she? I mean, I wouldn’t have thought she would, but Abby tried to do that for me, and even if you don’t have the biological claim, you’ve been Kevin’s father for most of his life, right?”

Nathan blinked for a moment. Well, Carter had been the only one to truly understand how he’d felt about Callister, so it made sense he’d see Nathan’s paternal relationship with Kevin too. Most of the town seemed to think Nathan saw Kevin as either an accessory to Allison or as a science experiment. 

He shook his head slowly. “I officially adopted him six years ago, in case anything ever happened to Allie. That wasn’t tied to the divorce and Allison hasn’t mentioned it, but maybe it hasn’t occurred to her.” Whether what hadn’t occurred to her was the barring of his custody or the fact that he would still want it wasn’t articulated.

Both men lapsed into silence.

Nathan’s gaze was still fixed on Carter however. How was it that this man who couldn’t tell tungsten from tin was able to understand him so easily? More easily than his own wife– _ex-wife_. 

Other thoughts came to him – Carter’s unexpected flirting shortly after they first met, and subsequent times when their bickering became a little too _friendly_. The jumbled jealousy Nathan had felt during the nanobot-inspired kiss when he had realized he wasn’t sure whether he wanted to punch Carter for kissing Allison – or kill Allison for getting the chance to kiss Carter.

Well, he hadn’t reached his present position by waiting for chances to just appear. Kissing Allison clearly wasn’t on the table for the moment, but maybe he had other options. He’d wondered how good a kisser Carter would be _(Allison had seemed to enjoy it)_ , but how could he make any conclusions without first-hand data?

Feeling a little reckless, Nathan surged forward to press his lips against Jack’s.

********

It had been a long time since Jack had been this close to someone else. He had gone on a few dates since the divorce, but most of them hadn’t merited a second date or more than a kiss on the cheek. 

When he’d moved to Eureka he’d finally felt ready for a fresh start, and had hoped to form a more lasting relationship with Allison. She was beautiful, intelligent, compassionate, and a loving mother. Of course, being Eureka, he was instead making out with her ridiculously hot ex-husband.

Ex-husband. Right. _Shit._

Jack tried to lean back and pull Nathan’s hands away, _and dear God when had Nathan’s hand managed to sneak into his pants?_ Jack let out a truly embarrassing moan even as he finally managed to wrench himself back.

Nathan’s eyes were dark and focused intently on Jack’s mouth. Jack nearly swayed forward again, but managed to catch himself.

“You’re drunk.”

Nathan rolled his eyes and leaned back in. “So are you.”

Jack scrambled farther away on the couch. “No! What I mean is, we can’t do this. You are drunk and clearly on the rebound and…”

“Mmm, I can be very persuasive.” A hand was sliding up Jack’s thigh, and the look on Stark’s face was positively predatory.

 _Damnit._ Jack really, really wanted to say to hell with the consequences. It had been such a long time and Nathan was a _very_ good kisser, even completely smashed. But they were both drunk and in no condition to make decisions that would affect their already shaky ability to work together. Even with just a kiss, Nathan might decide tomorrow to crank up his snark vibes or avoid Jack completely.

… and apparently Jack had spent too long thinking again, because he suddenly found 180 pounds of attractive male pressing him over the arm of the couch. For a moment, his hand trailed up into curly hair and his tongue wrapped around the one currently invading his mouth, before he gave a shove and rolled out from underneath Nathan.

Nathan’s smirk as Jack lay sprawled on the floor helped to restore his sense of normality. He scrambled to his feet and hastily put several pieces of furniture between them. 

He opened his mouth, trying to think of what the proper thing to say in this situation was, before going with the old standby of, “I have to go.” _Right. Real classy._ But at least it would get him away from the temptation that was Nathan Stark.

Jack was glad he’d left his jeep at the station, _(he hadn’t wanted neighbors seeing it parked outside),_ as the walk back might hopefully clear his head – of both the beer and Nathan’s kisses. Now he just had to decide if it was worse to sleep at the station and chance Jo finding him in the morning, or going home and being caught hungover by Zoe and SARAH.

********

Nathan sighed and slumped back into his couch as the door swung shut. That had ended much more quickly than he’d have liked, but of course Carter… _Jack_ was such a fucking boy scout and didn’t want to take advantage. It made Nathan want to take him apart piece by piece until Jack was a babbling, gibbering wreck. _(So, kind of like his normal state, except focused entirely on Nathan.)_

Jack’s departure had only dampened Nathan’s arousal slightly, and he found himself closing his eyes and picturing that delicious moan he’d coaxed out not five minutes ago. Sliding his hand into his pants, he re-played every second of the recent encounter, remembering the feel and taste of Jack, and imagining that hand back in his hair and his hips pressing against muscled thighs. As memory turned to fantasy, the image of actually fucking Jack over the arm of his couch had him coming all over his hand.

 

As Nathan dragged himself to bed, he reflected again on the events of the evening. He had not been expecting Carter’s presence, let alone what came after. The phantom tingles from his recent orgasm though had him vowing that the evening’s activities _would_ be repeated in the future, and hopefully with a less solitary conclusion.

Nathan knew the mark of a good scientist was being able to acknowledge when your initial hypothesis has failed. He had come to Eureka thinking he’d be able to reconnect with Allison. He could choose to still follow the assumption that enough time and energy would be able to yield positive results. However, the data he’d received from her so far – ignoring all his flirting, refusing to discuss fixing their marriage, _divorcing_ him – was not looking very promising, even with her unexpected clinginess during the Lise Meitner dance. 

He was also a little tired of feeling like the effort was all on his side. He didn’t mind being the pursuer – in fact he preferred it – but Nathan had been trying to prove to Allison that he had changed and was willing to compromise, and not only had Allison not acknowledged this, she also wasn’t reciprocating. He was not the only one at fault for the failure in their relationship; why should he be the only one trying to bridge the gap between them? His discussion with Jack tonight had only highlighted his past frustrations and reminded him of all the reasons he had walked away the first time.

So, as a scientist, maybe it was time to change the parameters and pursue a new hypothesis. After all, the data he’d received tonight was _very_ promising. As long as Jack’s denial was based on the timing, and not Nathan himself, then he was sure he could wear down any objections. It might involve waiting for a few weeks to appear fully over the divorce, but it would give him time to plan; and he had a feeling Jack would be worth it.

With Allison, he had wanted the perfect family, the perfect partnership. He had no such expectations that it would be that way with Jack. Their relationship at GD was characterized by pushing each other’s buttons and never giving ground. _(Nathan couldn’t help but imagine how that might transfer to the bedroom.)_ On top of that, Jack managed to constantly surprise him – both in his unique ability to outsmart scientists with twice his I.Q. and in his unexpected swells of compassion and insight. Having Jack in his life would definitely keep things interesting. 

A slow smile spread across Nathan’s face as he fell asleep, dreaming of Jack lying beside him.

**Author's Note:**

> The title comes from a twist on the Latin aphorism “in vino veritas” – _truth is found in/through wine_. This is instead _friendship is found through wine_.


End file.
